Nine short months after they left Earth forever, spacefarers from your great empire have completed the staggering journey across the cold, dark reaches of space to arrive on Mars. The team is in high spirits. The first phase of the establishment of a permanent colony on the planet proceeds well, and the opportunities for discovery and enrichment are near endless. With your empire bestriding two worlds now, your dominance is near irrefutable. The only question is, do you wish to let history judge your reign now, or do you wish to play with your rivals some more?
Let this moment be a line in the sand, from where a reckoning will be made.
Wealth and power will flow from these first tentative steps; it would be remiss not to savor them.